You c an't trust young guys with good eyes

[Boz330]

We had our annual club BPCRT match over the weekend. Participation in this match is dwindling literally because of people dying off. I have a young friend that likes to shoot and I've been trying to get him to try it for several years. He has been married for a couple years and has 2 very young boys and is the head of IT in his county school system so free time is at a premium.
Anyway I told him about the match and I had a rifle and ammo that he could use if he wanted and he accepted. The rifle is a C-Sharps 75 in 38-55. I bought it as a hunting rifle so it has a 26" barrel and stock trigger and the sights are not very good. Windage is a sliding cup and the elevation scale is very hard to read even with a magnifying glass and isn't the standard vernier. The kid flops down at 300yrd and proceeds to shoot a 96-4X.
We move back to 500yd and I had to guess at the elevation setting since I only had settings for 300 and 600. First shot is a 6 at 6 o'clock. I tell him to move the sights up a little bit and he shoots a 10 and goes for score. He then shoots an X a 10, 7, 10 and a miss which hit very low in the berm. He said that the round was very hard to chamber so we didn't change anything and he finished respectfully but the miss killed him but he was still in 2nd place. Sunday we moved back to 600yd and by the time he got on the line the wind was all over the place and he had 2 misses, but still ended up in 3rd place.
I have won this match every year since 2011 except 12 when I wasn't there. It was named after my best friend who won it in both Cartridge and ML almost every year till his death. He was looking over someone else's shoulder this year though. My Godson who I also sucked into the game a couple years ago took first place and I was relegated to 2nd, and really would have been even happier with 3rd.
The new guy says that he wants to try the 1000yd matches at Atterbury this Sept and Ray Hopkins has offered him a rifle to shoot since he will be match director. Maybe we will have another young guy to carry things forward since long range shooter seem to be a dying breed around here.
The pictures behind the silver cups are of my buddy and Godson from several successful deer camps.


Bob

[one-eyed fat man]

That is a great day at the range for all concerned!! Good going, Boz!

[Chill Wills]

Thanks for posting this story and match writeup Bob.
Good for you introducing as many young and new shooter to the game as you do!

And Yes, young eyes are not to be under-rated. That is for sure.

[Don McDowell]

Big tip of the hat Bob for bringing a new face into the sport.

[rfd]

adding one is better than none. good job, boz!

[DIRT Farmer]

Good going Bob.
Hope to get to Friendship and see you

[TNsailorman]

Thanks for starting a new shooter, we need all the help we can get from the younger set. You story made my day. james

[Boz330]

To be honest it is sort of self serving. I've lost 5 old friends in the last 2 months and it's getting harder to find someone to hunt and shoot with. Problem with these young guys is they are making there lives, and family and careers need attention so you need more of them to fill the gaps.
I started my God son hunting and shooting when he was 10 years old. He was KY state junior pistol champion for 4 years running till he was too old for the class. That was coincidentally also when he turned 16 when he discovered cars and girls. The manly pursuits took a back seat to other manly options. About half way through college he came back to hunting with my buddy and me but work and family limited that but once deer season opened my buddy and I were in camp every weekend from the 2nd Sat in Nov till the same in Dec. The hunting wasn't the main point, getting away was and if the weather was too bad we sat and drank coffee or beer as needed and told lies. He passed 5 years ago and I sure miss that time we spent together.
I don't have any kids of my own but my Godson has been my surrogate kid but he has a family as well so his time is limited.
I've known the other young man for about 13 or 14 years now. I mentored him when he was skydiving and later when he got his pilots license. I felt highly honored when he decided to name his first born after me. I didn't think that I had done anything that rated that. I was just helping someone that wanted to learn and would listen. A quality that seems missing a lot today.
In any case it looks like there will be a full camper at deer camp for the first time in 6 years this opening weekend of deer season.

Bob

[Winger Ed.]

That's great.

Contests are way more fun if you win once in awhile.

[samari46]

When I was considerably younger I could hut small rocks with a 22rf bolt action rifle. Now going to mil surp carbines as I can still see the iron sights. Have cataracts in both eyes which hopefully will be taken care of this year. But still a decent shot with handguns. Maybe not as good as I used to be it is what it is. Frank

[Boz330]

Update. My young friend e-mailed me this morning with an ad for the Pedersoli Hunter model which is what I shoot for LR. It was a terrific price and great for a beginner. It was even located in state only an hour from him. He offered to meet the guy for a face to face buy, but the seller wanted to go through an FFL dealer. He offered to meet the guy at a gun shop of his choice but the guy wanted a postal MO for the gun and he would ship it to a dealer near him. My friend declined that deal because it sounded like a scam and I agreed. The upside is that at least I know he is serious about getting his feet wet.

Bob

Bob

[Beerd]

Just remember, "Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill every time!"
..

[JBinMN]

Just remember, "Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill every time!"
..

^Fact^